


Courage

by tocasia



Series: Our Shining Past [7]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: 'date' with single quotes, AU, Business Casual, Explosions, Firing range, Gen, Romance What Romance, Sephiroth and Zack friendship, weapons testing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-23 01:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11392164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocasia/pseuds/tocasia
Summary: Scarlet asks Sephiroth out on a 'date'.(97. courage) for Seph&Zack Friendship 100 Themes





	Courage

The random mission he'd given himself today was....

Sephiroth cast another Wall around the bleachers to protect the Thirds who were watching the Seconds train. Their aim left much to be desired. He briefly considered that maybe he should have cast Reflect instead as an Ice spell impacted the barrier above his head.

One of the SOLDIERS tried to get his attention. Scarlet was standing nearby. He nodded in her direction to acknowledge her presence. She walked right up to him. The sounds of training quieted somewhat as the combatants became curious.

"Scarlet. What do you want?"

"Come on a date with me."

A hush had fallen over the field.

He laughed. _No one_ had ever been brave enough to ask him that, especially in front of his SOLDIERS. He felt their terror at his outburst. Likely they were remembering Wutai, or what they'd heard about Wutai, and were wondering what was about to happen to Scarlet. It amused him further.

"You can't be serious."

Scarlet didn't back down.

Okay, he'd play along. Still laughing, he said, "Where? Some kind of classy theatre or concert performance?"

No, that's not what Scarlet wanted. Probably.

She confirmed it. "Zemzelett Facility, Section 15." This was about getting more press for the Weapons Department, then.

He shouldn't be enjoying the troops' obvious confusion this much. They were perplexed, waiting for his answer. Ha! He made up his mind to accept. So his choice was between seeing Loveless, which had been the only thing showing in Midgar for the past twenty years, or destroying something entirely undeserving....

"Yes, I will come with you to the firing range."

He liked her surprise when she said, "Great! See you next Tuesday!"

She left.

Anyone else would have gotten some teasing jeers. Sephiroth ordered the SOLDIERS back to work with a wave of his hand.

* * *

This crater-pocked no man's land outside Midgar had seen more than its fair share of explosions. It was no secret that Scarlet thought of it as paradise.

Scarlet had arrived before him. She was wearing a suit instead of the revealing attire she normally wore at the office. Scarlet used every asset to her advantage. He admired that about her. The things this disgusting society assumed about her simply because of the way she dressed....

"General! You showed up!" She stared a little too long at his similarly low-key outfit. Heh. He knew he looked good in plain clothes. Sephiroth offered her his arm and kept up with her excited strides towards the testing area.

He watched patiently, occasionally complimenting her aim, while Scarlet did most of the shooting with the new and improved models of the mundane weapons. The special prototypes were much more interesting.

The first she showed him was in development for Turk use. "This one's for Rude. I got the idea from a friend who likes bombs and monitors and flashy things. Watch."

The technician doing the demonstration bent down and slammed his fist into the ground. A narrow wave of red energy traveled rapidly in a straight line and then burst with a brilliant orange flash, leaving the target crackling with electricity.

Yes, that was impressive. "What about that one over there?"

"It's so experimental that it might explode instead of the target." She really was a loose cannon.

"Is that a problem?" He already knew it wasn't.

"Of course not! We'll learn from the failure and the next version will be better."

As promised, the turret's structural integrity did not hold up to the power of the spell it fired. Shrapnel went everywhere. Scarlet was not embarrassed; Sephiroth appreciated the destructive potential. Perhaps, if made cheaply, the design could be used as some sort of bomb. He recognized the spell as Aero3. If only that were an Enemy Skill.... They walked to the next test area, which was less strewn with rubble.

"Now for my favorite, the Beam Cannon!"

He wasn't sure he'd ever heard anyone yell "Fire!" so passionately. She was enraptured.

"We're still working on the concept for the mech to mount this on. They're referring to it as the 'Proud Clod'."

When he didn't say anything, she changed direction. "Oh, I'm sorry, I got carried away. You probably want to fire one, too." Scarlet knew he didn't like to use guns. It was common knowledge.

He met her steady, mocking gaze with a smile, rising to the challenge. "Which one, then?"

"This is the new shotgun for Rufus."

He took the weapon she offered. It was a masterpiece, he could tell that much. Rufus was the closest thing he had to a rival; he should see what it could do. Guns were beneath him, but... he supposed facing something he didn't like counted as courageous.

"Ooh, nice shot! Well, that's all the time I have for today. Actually, that was more fun than I thought."

They'd just spent two hours watching explosions. It was absolutely _no surprise_ that Scarlet had enjoyed that immensely.

"So, how about a kiss, sweetheart?"

He'd expected her to ask him that. Who wouldn't? "On the first date? No."

"How about a second date then?" Was that a wink?

"Don't push your luck."

"Come to one of my parties?"

"I'll think it over. Maybe when the time is right for the next media scandal after this."

"Kyahahaha! You _are_ brilliant. Thanks for the help today."

They went their separate ways.

* * *

The next morning, Zack showed up in his office with a copy of the newspaper.

"You went on a date with Scarlet!? Talk about a power couple!"

He took a sip of his coffee. "Hmm."

Zack's face sported a hilarious, incredulous look. Sephiroth knew what he was assuming and tried not to laugh. He put the coffee down as a precaution.

"You know better than that. It was a PR stunt."

"So how'd it go?"

"I was a perfect gentleman and Scarlet was her usual crazy self. The enlisted should practice with Lightning materia to fight her new robot soldiers. Intensify the rivalry between our two departments. It'll be good for morale."

Zack raised an eyebrow and smiled one of those Zack smiles. "So you like her, huh?"

"You're incorrigible, Zack."

"Seph and Scarlet, sitting in a tree, K- I- S- S- I- N- G...."

"But also completely fearless. Just in case, I hope you have enough sense not to repeat that."


End file.
